Nuthin' But a "G" Thang

by Dr. Dre

Cite This Source

Music

While Snoop, Daz, RBX, and other Death Row rappers overshadowed Dre on the vocals, The Chronic's 1970s musical foundation became a star (again) in its own right. Taking the most infectious, melodic clips from that decade's soul and funk, "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang" and other Chronic songs started with a spark of inspiration and were then built around the sample.

For "Nuthin'," Dre looped the first 40 seconds of Leon Haywood's "I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You," a smooth, sensual track about exactly what you think it's about. Dre focused on letting Haywood's mid-tempo keyboards and smooth guitar create a sense of immersion into the "G" world. In contrast to Parliament's funk songs, which were largely about having a good time and letting loose, Haywood's song represented a different dimension of funk, which prized extreme relaxation, carnal human connections, and ditching your cares. Public Enemy also sampled the song in 1990, likely due to Dre's inspiration, and it has since been sampled by Redman, Aaliyah, Rappin' 4-Tay, Twista, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, and Mariah Carey.